GOD’S JUSTICE OR OUR OWN?

Psalms 119:161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.

It is understandable to suffer for the sins we know. It is even understandable to suffer for the sins we don’t know. But oh how hard it is to suffer without a cause. We try with all we have to keep the suffering away. We ‘play the game by the rules’, stay in the ‘safe zone’.

Suffering without a cause was the baptism, the destiny of Christ; we are to be baptized with the same baptism (Matthew 20:22,23). From Abel all the way to Job, David, and Jesus, the lot of the child of God is the same. To suffer without a cause is the earmark of a life touched by God; to suffer without a cause, or even, for your virtue.

How hard it is. Here we are, we obey, we give all, we praise when we feel like it and when we don’t feel like it. We fellowship, we pray, and yet, we are not spared the rod of suffering. Oh, how that hurts our sense of justice. We claim that if we were God we would know better, we would treat us better, we would be fairerallow ourselves to be subject to such an unfair treatment.

That, my friend, is the devil’s morbid sense of self-righteous justice. For How can he be clean that is born of a woman” (Job 25:4). In God’s eyes, we are dead from the minute we are born; but in our self-righteous condemned pride, we can’t help but try to bargain our lot with God using our good works. Suffering “without a cause” has the ability to cleanse us from this ungodly sense of justice born of our carnal mind (Romans 8:7).

Whatever our lot, it is in the hand of God within His perfect plan. May the blessing of the suffering he has allotted us cleanse the sin and uncleanness of our spirit, even our own perverted sense of self-righteous justice.

Matthew 5:10-12 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11) Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. (12) Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

1 Peter 2:20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.